Ten or More For Age 33 or Less

by Occult Fan

Tonight is my 33rd birthday, and I’ve just finished reading Alice Decoded by David Day – not only has it revolutionized my ability to write The Holy Gift (formatting excellence, definitely cool beans, all~) – so I’m just on a lark figuring I’d share a few of my favourite books from a span of when I was a wee sprout, up until around 15.

::clever latin quote about being a reader and soulful goes here::

In no order of particular meaning

One: Roxaboxen

A story of a group of children wild at play, constructing a world of their own fantasy, with bits of smooth glass as money, if I recall, and the most wonderful white stone lined houses… the illustration is done by Barbara Cooney, who you will see again in this list, known for her light textures and dreamy watercolour worlds, she is a whimsy of nostalgia that evokes a future dream to come – forever young is the banner she rides under, just as the wooden horses Alice McLerren creates – even in a child’s world of wonder here, wars and battles are not distant, but… all too near.

As I said, here she is again, but this is all Barbara Cooney – a lovely story about life and it’s tender meaning if one has the heart to truly comprehend this gift we have been given – so easy to forget – to grow hard – the waves are parting and we can see true paradise in a kind smile and a love of flowers and the ability to pass gracefully through this world. Although we cease to exist we persist to remain, love, memory, tradition… this is a very personal book that I cannot tarry further on with, suffice to say that you will be moved, and that is the value, in part, of these books I share – they … are truest jewels*.

if I were a better blogger, I’d insert graphic here

Three: Goodnight Moon

This should be on everybody’s list, but it goes without saying this rhythmic sea of poetry lulls us off to the dreamiest of distant memories where we where still ‘of the trail and glow of heaven’ or something to that end of the line, but as much as the words are spellbinding, the illustrations by Clement Hurd are almost surrealistic blacklight pantomime but the thick matte texture somehow offsets the harsher tones leaving the gestalt subsuming the favour of the eye, and the actual ‘text of the illustration’ waltzes in perfect time hand in hand with Margaret Wise Brown’s masterful lyricism.

Four: A Wrinkle in Time

Madeleine L’Engle’s high youth fantasy (trust me there) … I first read this at age 8… no surprise to some of my readers (I have those, you know!) 8 being that … one of my flavorites – perfect to mention as this has a focus on the mechanics of time, one of my first forays in to the concepts of philsophy, other worlds, and high imagination, the likes of which I had not been able to prepare my self for – for I too was swept up on that windy night, with Calvin, Meg, and Charles Wallace off to magical lands, the likes of which… I expect some of us will be returning to sooner than we may possibly once yet again imagine….

Five: Goosebumps #7: Night of the Living Dummy

YES! A frukin Goosebumps made it on my list! This was the first in a slew of these things – I read a ton of them – never got in to Fear Street, but this corny story was just so much fun. My Grandma Doris Foster got this one for me when I was about the same age, she was proud of me for being a kid who read. Not much to say here, except that I wanted to name our Mini-Schnauzer after a dog from Goosebumps – Trigger – but my brother Geoffrey Niles got to name it Tyke. Because they got a dog without telling me. Hey I know! Let’s move forward!

P.S. I remember the original cover being way more appealing ^^

Number Six: Love You Forever

Robert Munsch pens a timeless loving tender rendition of the circle of life between a mother and her son. It’s very touching and I know you feel the way I do too. The illustrations by Sheila McGraw perfectly compliment the tale, the entire book is a timeless magical treasure and for any mother looking to read a book to her son that will touch them both in the best way, Love You Forever is the one.

Number Seven: The Runaway Bunny

This list isn’t giving me enough room haha

Number Eight: Alice in Wonderland

Number Nine: Alice Through The Looking Glass

Number Ten: The Hunting of the Snark

…For The Snark WAS a Boojum, You See

xoxo :3 I’m going to have to extend this list to include some CS Lewis, the Chinese seven brothers and a few others including Mouse a Cookie, some Jan Brett, and more… but this is a living blog, so I can do that.